[Flashback]Unexpected Learning(Hex)

[Hatot]

Radris smirked, knowing the strike was coming. Still he did nothing to counter it as he grunted in pain when Hex’s free leg slammed into the still healing gash along his leg. Her fingers came thrusting forward as fingernails dug into the flesh of his wrist. The broken flesh did little in terms of damage itself, but as pressure, formed from her training over the course of almost a half season, began centering on the joint of his wrist, Radris felt his fingers loosen on their own, releasing his grip along her ankle as she fell to the ground with a light thud.

Radris hovered over her, an amused look on his face as he brought his wrist upwards, dragging his tongue over the gouges that had been made. He opened and closed his hand into a fist a few times, feeling and full range of motion returning to his fingers, but a slow ache remained. “Better,” Radris simply uttered, the corner of his mouth still sharpened in an amused smirk, “but what else do you have for me?”

Radris’ hand then snatched forward, grabbing Hex by the front of her clothing. While he had an injured leg and one arm rendered practically useless due to a shoulder injury, Hex found that Radris’ strength was still beyond normal as a strong yank pulled Hex back to her feet. She found the palm of Radris hand suddenly slamming into her stomach. It had been a short jab of a motion, done in the instant Radris had released the front of her shirt as he drew his hand back quickly, and then thrust it forward. The strike itself wasn’t his strongest, but combined with his physical strength, and Hex’s own forward motion at the time, it still felt as strong as any shot that had taken over the course of her training with Hatot, perhaps even a little harder. Radris’ hand then fell along Hex’s shoulder, gripping the material of her clothing there before she would feel him beginning to pull her, the beginning of a sloppy, but strong attempt to throw her back to the ground.

[Hex]

As Radris’s palm slapped her front, Hex tried to absorb the impact, tightening the muscles of her torso. But his strength was too raw and it partially winded her, making her gasp in short breaths as he tossed her about like a rag doll. From the motion of his arms, Hex felt a slam to the ground coming. In reaction Hex flexed out both her arms to the side, making her shoulder blades come together on her back and prevent her from being winded again. The move hurt her extended elbows when she hit the ground but at least she was still in control of her breath. Breath was everything. There was a tiny moment while Hex was on the ground that she saw the opportunity to act. His hand would not relent their grip on her clothing, so she shot her left leg out and struck his solar plexus just below his sternum with her heel. She drive her foot into his torso and pulled her lower body up, pivoting on her shoulders and thrusting her feet at his injured shoulder, windpipe and face as she rounded up and flipped backwards, yanking and ripping at the shirt as she landed in front of him on her knees. The fabric of her shirt tore at the seams and soon she was free as she folded her arms and yanked them from their holding. Her body crouched low to the ground and just as soon as she freed herself her fingers pelted the knee joint of his injured leg. Back when she had begun her training, she wouldn’t have dreamt being able to disturb the alignment of his strongly muscled limbs. But his bones were larger and his skin leaner - if anything, she saw the arrangement of the joints more clearly because of their size. In a matter of seconds, her elbow bent and she pushed with all her might, knocking the heel of her hand into the inner side of his knee. She attempted to put the knee joint into an awkward position, and following the move she attacked the more delicate flesh at the side and back of the knee with her fingertips. Hex drove her sharp fingers as deep into the flesh as she could and at one point twisted them violently when she thought she felt the spot where the two bones met and were cushioned by tissue.

[Hatot]

As Hex lashed out, her flurry of attacks coming quickly and accurately, she would notice that each one connected, a slight grunt echoing out from Radris in response. It was also likely then that she noticed he wasn’t really defending against them, not practically anyhow. Only when Hex had made what Radris considered to be an impractical attack with her earlier kick, did he make movements to actually block it.

As it stood now, however, all of Hex’s attacks were getting through, she would only notice him stiffening a muscle or bending a joint, his body seeming to absorb her strikes, lessening their damage. The strikes to his wounded areas were seeming to be the most effective, raising a wince of pained expression on his face. As she dipped down, and began to batter at his knee, she would notice his leg shifting, bending subtly with her strikes. There was damage still, to be certain, but significantly less than there would have been had he been an average fighter. In a way, it was a chance for Hex to learn more, more about flowing defense of the style. She might come to realize that one may not always be able to avoid an attack. In such instances, flowing with the attack to minimize the damage was the next best thing. It was something she was already doing instinctively when she was thrust to the ground the first time as she maneuvered her body to absorb the impact of her fall and avoid getting the breath knocked out of her lungs.

Whether Radris was doing this intentionally or not, she didn’t know. When the dark brother of Hatot was out, it was always difficult to measure any true intentions he had beyond stirring up trouble or appreciating violence. A prime example of this was when Hex was striking at his knee. A simple laugh echoed from his lips as she did so before she felt his vice like grip, wrapping around her brow, his palm covering her vision for a moment as fingers pressed tightly along the top of her head and temples. There was so much pain in his grip that time, and while it wasn’t likely, it felt as almost Hex’s skull would likely begin to crack under such pressure as he began to lift her back up. “Keep bringing it,” Radris simply whispered, his voice laced with pleasure and a hint of malevolence before his hand was pushed forward with all his force, sending Hex toppling back, almost lifted off the ground by it.

[Hex]

The grip around her skull disoriented Hex. When her feet met the ground again she wobbled helplessly and then found her footing. Her stance was wide as she looked up into his menacing face. Cruelty was etched into his features as he eyed her, waiting for her next pitiful outburst of violence. She was going to exhaust herself trying to defeat him with raw force, and knowing that this was part of her training didn’t ease the fear that welled up in her. This was no ordinary training session with Hatot. The beast within was released and she was his prey; tossed around like a mouse in the clutches of a cat. Trying to face him head on was futile; no amount of force she could produce with her bare fists could ever overcome Radris’s rage-fueled strength. She took several steps back, her legs brushing against the tall grasses that surrounded the large patch of short grass and dried earth they sparred on. She was very afraid, shaking in fact; but she stood up tall and bore her eyes into his laughing, smirking face. The breeze that had accompanied them on the grasslands animating the grass stalks around her - giving her an opportunity to disappear into them. Out of nowhere, she dropped to the ground and dove into the sea of grass, scrambling quickly on all fours and following the wave of the wind passing through the landscape in an attempt to mimic its flow and recede into them until unseen. Her fingernails dug into earth with every movement she made to distance herself from Radris. She may not have been able to run from him for long but she could at least buy some time for Hatot to wrestle Radris back into his holding. Hex launched herself up a shallow hill, knowing that there was a bed of rocks on the other side. If she could hide amongst the rocks, or better yet find a way into an underground hole, perhaps she would get away safely. When the odds were dangerously against her, she fled. It was what she knew best.

[Hatot]

A look of both disgust cross Radris’ face as he saw Hex drop under the tall grasses, using it to conceal herself as she tried to skitter away. “Is this how you will move about life woman?” Radris suddenly yelled out. “On all fours and running away like a timid little animal!?”

He growled slightly, searching around the grass as he began to move forward, his feet sweeping through tall grass in long, limped steps. “What happens when you try to flee and they catch you?” Radris then yelled, spooking some birds who had hid within the grass itself. “They’ll ravage you. Again, and again, and again. Just for the simple fact that they know you’re afraid, that they know you will try to run instead of standing and fighting!”

An amused feature then crossed his face when Hex didn’t pop up from the grasses, his gaze slowly traveling over the area. “Fine, we’ll do this the hard way then.” Radris then said as he closed his eyes, the smile forming over his lips as he slowly began to concentrate, feeling djed begin to flow around him. “You taught Hatot something, Hex. It was something meant to suppress me, but I’m not something that can be suppressed, buried within him for eternity. I’ll always come up again. Still, you taught him all the same, and in doing so……” Radris then slowly turned his head, twisting it slightly as the joints popped. He then slowly opened his eyes, his vision filled with the color of auras swirling around and dancing before his eyes, his normal vision now replaced, “you taught me as well.” Radris then said, his eyes narrowing as he focused his vision forward, slowly casting aside auras he knew wasn’t Hex one by one, until finally coming to focus on one alone. The shape was blurred, looking to be a mix of blue and yellow flame, but also something familiar about it, and the way it moved. Radris’ smile widened. “There you are.”

Radris slowly began to approach, as he felt the fatigue from using Auristics slowly begin to build within him. It wouldn’t build quick enough. “Cat and mouse is over, sweet cheeks.” Radris then echoed. “Hope you enjoy sparring naked. Consider it a handicap I’ll be taking on for myself when I get my hands on you.”

[Hex]

The ground shook with every heavy step that Radris took towards Hex. Her heart raced so fast she thought she would have passed out, and when he came towards her it slammed inside her ribcage as she continued to scramble away over the hill and down the other side. After a stumbled fall down the hill through the grasses, which gave away her position, she fled into the shaded recesses of a rock bed at the foot of the hill, squeezing her small frame through the cracks until she felt the cool air of an underground space open up to her. His mocking voice rang in her ears as she sped down the cave’s tunnel, allowing the darkness to swallow her up. As she disappeared further and further down the tunnel she used her auristics to dampen her own aura, quieting the vibration that hummed around her with a blackness that matched that of the rocky walls around her. Several forks in the tunnels pulled her in different directions; left, right, right again. But no matter how far she seemed to climb through them, Radris’s voice seemed just a footstep away. Whether it was the reverberations of his voice in the tunnels or her imagination she was uncertain, but the fear she felt was insurmountable and she was desperate to get as far away from him as she could. Suddenly the tunnel she was travelling tapered into a collapsed mess and she bit her lip in frustration, now feeling cornered and more vulnerable than ever. With her auristics, she laid her hands on the rocks before her, searching for an opening, a weakness anywhere in the rock that would let her get through.

[Hatot]

Radris moved closer, his steps limping along the ground as he stepped closer towards Hex’s aura. It was difficult to follow, and even now he could feel the fatigue that Auristics left over his eyes starting to lightly spread over the rest of his body, as though he had just ran a short distance. His feet falling over the ground could be heard from underneath within the cave Hex now hid as dull echoing thuds rang out. They suddenly stopped, and Hex realized that Radris was directly above her, standing along the ground as she stayed below. His movements ceased at that point, no other hollow thuds or shouting taunts, there was simple silence.

Radris only saw slight hints of Hex’s aura at that point, and her aura alone. From what he saw, he should be right on top of her practically, he should have been able to reach out and grab her. Every motion he made with his hands however only found him feeling something that he could only guess was the tall grasses of the lands and the dirt below. “Underground then are we?” Radris then thought to himself as he took a slow breath.

As Hex frantically tried to search for a way to escape, to slip through the blockade that had been put before her in the cave, a sudden loud thud rang out from above as specs of dirt and small rocks began to fall from the roof of the cave. Apparently, Radris was trying to hammer through from above, and his blows began to threaten parts of the cave ceiling to fall on top of Hex.

[Hex]

Radris, who had located Hex, stood above ground patiently reading and searching her aura with his new found ability. She could feel his energy on her skin, boring and churning through layers of rock that separated them. As an aurist feeling the auristic power of an another aurist, she saw rivers of what could only be described as noxious black tar seep through the tiny cracks of the universe, oozing and dripping from the tunnel ceiling. It burned her nostrils and made her cough as her panic rose. She instinctively thought to run or dig; anything to get away from the suffocating toxin that was Radris on her soul. But so much djed and energy had been recruited from her body to dampen her aura. The panic was like a whirlwind now, her palms sweaty, heart raced, solar plexus lurched as if she was being tossed around violently. She could feel the tar filling the space around her, inching up her body, threatening to strangle her with its long tendrils of the purist evils in her life. No amount of running would separate her from this evil and it was only a matter of time before she got devoured by it. Even in the pitch darkness of the tunnel, where no light seemed to survive, the atmosphere grew ever darker; sucking the warmth and air from her body. Her head spun with every pounding of Radris’ fists that shook the tunnel. She was scared to move and the channel threatened to yield under the power of Radris above her. Everything was out of control, djed whipping at her soul and tearing away at her resolve. All she could do was manage to pull her legs close to her and weep into her knees, folding her arms over her ears to try and shield herself away from what threatened to hurt her. She attempted to use every last bit of djed to protect herself; even tear at the very fabric of space and use energy to build a bubble around herself. She was grasping at anything that could get her out of that hell.

[Tabarnac]

OOCThere is no Priskil here.

[Tabarnac]

XP Award! Hatot XP Award: Gadgeteering +1; Puppeteering +3; Teaching +3; Unarmed Combat +5; Auristics +3 Hex XP Award: Unarmed Combat +5; Auristics +2; Detection +1; Meditation +1; Spelunking +1 Additional Notes: So sorry this thread took a turn for the worst, but here is the XP. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions or concerns. Keep writing!